Content rate selection for media servers with proxy-feedback-controlled frame transmission

ABSTRACT

In a method for dynamically setting a content rate of a multimedia session for a client in a network, a proxy server receives a channel condition feedback message from a network controller and determines whether a receiver report message has been received from the client since a most recent previous channel condition feedback message. The channel condition feedback message includes current channel condition information for the network. The proxy server sends one of an extended feedback report message and a short feedback report message to a media server based on the determining step. The short feedback report message includes at least a maximum transmission rate parameter for the multimedia session. The extended feedback report message includes at least information contained in the receiver report message. The extended feedback report message may, in addition, include the maximum transmission rate parameter for the multimedia session.

PRIORITY STATEMENT

This non-provisional patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§ 119(e) to provisional patent application No. 60/966, 020 (Docket No.Balachandran 52-14-6-45) to Krishna Balachandran, Doru Calin, EunyoungKim and Kiran Rege, filed on Aug. 24, 2007, and provisional patentapplication No. 60/966,017 (Docket No. Balachandran 53-15-7-46) toKrishna Balachandran, Doru Calin, Eunyoung Kim and Kiran Rege, filed onAug. 24, 2007. The entire contents of each these applications isincorporated herein by reference.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional patent application is related to U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 11/674,802 (Docket No. Balachandran 45-11-3-36) toKrishna Balachandran, Doru Calin, Eunyoung Kim and Kiran Rege, filed onFeb. 14, 2007, and 11/674,858 (Docket No. Balachandran 48-13-5-43) toKrishna Balachandran, Doru Calin, Eunyoung Kim and Kiran Rege, filed onFeb. 14, 2007, the entire contents of each of these applications is alsoincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF TH INVENTION Description of the Related Art

Streaming media services (e.g., music, video, etc.) over wirelesscommunication networks have been gaining in popularity over the past fewyears, and are likely to become commercially important to wirelessservice providers in the near future. A major impediment to theirsuccess is the often poor and/or unreliable quality associated with theservices. In one example, this lack of reliability results fromsignificant fluctuations in the rate at which packets carrying a mediastream are delivered to mobile units. These fluctuations stem fromvariations in signal strength and the need to share the wireless accessmedium among multiple mobile units.

In another example, fluctuations in the rate at which packets aredelivered to mobile units result from delay and/or loss of packets asthey traverse a wireless link on the path between the media server andthe mobile units. Conventionally, effects of lost packets, delayedpackets, and/or jitter are reduced by buffering the received data streamat the mobile units. But, buffering alone is insufficient for ensuringacceptable media quality.

FIG. 1 conceptually illustrates a conventional system for streamingmedia to mobile units or clients over a wireless network.

Referring to FIG. 1, the portion of the wireless network 100 between theGateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 120 and the media server 115 isreferred to as the core network 105. The network segment between theGGSN 120 and the mobile client 110 (inclusive of GGSN 120 and mobileclient 110) will be referred to as the wireless access network 125.

Conventionally, a mobile unit or client 110 (hereinafter referred to asa client) initiates a streaming multimedia (or media) session with amedia server 115 via the wireless network 100. In one example, theclient 110 requests a streaming video session by sending a real-timestreaming protocol (RTSP) message to the media server 115. The mobileclient 110 exchanges signaling messages with the media server 115 toestablish the streaming video session and negotiate session parameters(e.g., the bit-rate at which the media is to be streamed).

In establishing a media session, the mobile client 110 also exchangeslower-layer signaling messages with radio access network elements suchas the radio network controller (RNC) 130, the SGSN 103, and the GGSN120 to establish a radio access bearer (RAB) channel. RAB channels aretypically configured to maintain desired Quality-of-Service (QoS)characteristics, for example, if best-effort bearer service is deemedinadequate.

Once the RAB channel and the streaming media session are established,the media server 115 transmits packets carrying the media to the mobileclient 110 via the GGSN 120, the SGSN 103, the RNC 130, and the basestation 107. The mobile client 110 sends periodic feedback messagesalong the reverse path which traverses the base station 107 to the RNC130, SGSN 103, GGSN 120, and, finally, the media server 115. Uplinkfeedback messages from the mobile client 110 are transmitted relativelyinfrequently, for example, once every 3-4 seconds.

The media server 115 also transmits control/signaling messages to themobile client 110 on a periodic basis. These “server reports” arecarried transparently by the network elements. Conventionally, downlinkpackets carrying the media and control/signaling messages and uplinkfeedback messages transmitted by the mobile client 110 are all carriedtransparently by the network elements. Thus, the feedback messages fromthe mobile client 110 that assist the media server 115 in making controldecisions (such as changing transmission or content rate) areessentially end-to-end; that is, they do not carry any informationavailable only to the intervening network elements.

Accordingly, in the conventional system shown in FIG. 1, controldecisions by the media server 115 are based on rather infrequentfeedback received from the mobile client 110, and without directknowledge of the channel conditions. As a result, the media server 115cannot make timely decisions to avoid packet loss and/or re-bufferingevents that are detrimental to the quality of the streaming mediaservice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a method of scheduling frame transmission for a multimedia sessionfor a client in a network, a media server determines whether a tokenbucket packet queue associated with the multimedia session is empty, andcalculates a size of a frame to be transmitted to the client if thetoken bucket packet queue is empty. A buffer level at the clientincluding the frame is estimated. The buffer is associated with themultimedia session. The frame is packetized for transmission to theclient, and the packet is scheduled for transmission.

In a method for dynamically setting a content rate for a multimediasession for a client in a network, multimedia frames are streamed from amedia server to a client at a first content rate. The media server setsa content rate for the multimedia session in response to aproxy-to-server message from a proxy server. The content rate is setaccording to a maximum transmission rate parameter included in aproxy-to-server message. The proxy-to-server message is one of anextended feedback report message and a short feedback report message.Dynamic adjustment of the content rate is selectively performed based onwhether the proxy-to-server message is an extended feedback reportmessage or a short feedback report message.

In a method for dynamically setting a content rate of a multimediasession for a client in a network, a proxy server receives a channelcondition feedback message from a network controller and determineswhether a receiver report message has been received from the clientsince a most recent previous channel condition feedback message. Thechannel condition feedback message includes current channel conditioninformation for the network. The proxy server sends one of an extendedfeedback report message and a short feedback report message to a mediaserver based on the determining step. The short feedback report messageincludes at least a maximum transmission rate parameter for themultimedia session. The extended feedback report message includes atleast information contained in the receiver report message in additionto at least the maximum transmission rate parameter for the multimediasession.

In a method for rate-control of a multimedia session for a client in anetwork, the media server determines whether to transmit a packet to theclient based on a state variable associated with the multimedia sessionfor the client and the current state of a token bucket packet queueassociated with the multimedia session. The packet is selectivelytransmitted to the client based on the determining step.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings,wherein like elements are represented by like reference numerals, whichare given by way of illustration only and thus are not limiting of thepresent invention and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional system for streaming media over awireless network;

FIG. 2 illustrates a system for streaming media over a wireless networkaccording to an example embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for content rate selection at a signalingproxy according to example embodiments;

FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate a method for content rate selection at a mediaserver according to an example embodiment;

FIGS. 5-7 illustrate methods for dynamic frame transmission schedulingaccording to example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. In theinterest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation aredescribed in this specification. It will of course be appreciated thatin the development of any such actual embodiment, numerousimplementation-specific decisions should be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effortmight be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routineundertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure.

Portions of the present invention and corresponding detailed descriptionare presented in terms of software, or algorithms and symbolicrepresentations of operations on data bits within a computer memory.These descriptions and representations are the ones by which those ofordinary skill in the art effectively convey the substance of their workto others of ordinary skill in the art. An algorithm, as the term isused here, and as it is used generally, is conceived to be aself-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The stepsare those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities.Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form ofoptical, electrical, or magnetic signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise, or as is apparent from the discussion,terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device,that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical, electronicquantities within the computer system's registers and memories intoother data similarly represented as physical quantities within thecomputer system memories or registers or other such information storage,transmission or display devices.

Note also that the software implemented aspects of the invention aretypically encoded on some form of program storage medium or implementedover some type of transmission medium. The program storage medium may bemagnetic (e.g., a floppy disk or a hard drive) or optical (e.g., acompact disk read only memory, or “CD ROM”), and may be read only orrandom access. Similarly, the transmission medium may be twisted wirepairs, coaxial cable, optical fiber, or some other suitable transmissionmedium known to the art. The invention is not limited by these aspectsof any given implementation.

The present invention will now be described with reference to theattached figures. Various structures, systems and devices areschematically depicted in the drawings for purposes of explanation onlyand so as to not obscure the present invention with details that arewell known to those skilled in the art. Nevertheless, the attacheddrawings are included to describe and explain illustrative examples.Where applicable, the words and phrases used herein should be understoodand interpreted to have a meaning consistent with the understanding ofthose words and phrases by those skilled in the relevant art.

As used herein, the term “mobile client” may be considered synonymousto, and may hereafter be occasionally referred to, as a client, mobile,mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, user equipment (UE),subscriber, user, remote station, access terminal, receiver, etc., andmay describe a remote user of wireless resources in a wirelesscommunication network. The term “base station” may be consideredsynonymous to and/or referred to as a base transceiver station (BTS),NodeB, extended Node B, femto cell, access point, etc. and may describeequipment that provides the radio baseband functions for data and/orvoice connectivity between a network and one or more users.

FIG. 2 conceptually illustrates an example embodiment of a system forstreaming media over a wireless network. The entire network between themedia server 215 and mobile client 210 is referred to as a wirelessnetwork, even though it may comprise wireless as well as wired segments.The network segment between GGSN 220 and mobile client 210 will bereferred to as the wireless access network 223.

Referring to FIG. 2, the wireless access network 223 includes one ormore base stations 207 to stream media over an air interface to one ormore mobile clients or units 210 (referred to as “clients”). The media(e.g., audio, video, etc.) is provided by a media server 215 via aGateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 220, a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN)203, and a radio network controller (RNC) 230A. The wireless accessnetwork 223, the base stations 207, the client 210, the media server215, the SGSN 203, the GGSN 220, and the RNCs 230A, 230B may operateaccording to the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) (3GPP)standards and/or protocols.

In streaming media sessions, the Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) maybe used to carry the media content (e.g., voice, video, audio, etc.) andthe associated Real Time Control Protocol (RTCP) may be used to carrythe associated control packets. RTCP messages will be discussed insomewhat more detail below. The Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) maybe used for the transmission of messages for session setup (includingcapability negotiation/exchange), teardown, and some user actions (e.g.,pause, fast-forward, etc.).

Details regarding RTP/RTCP and RTSP are well-known as discussed in theInternet Engineering Task Force Requests for Comments (IETF RFCs) 1889and 2326, respectively.

Although example embodiments are discussed with regard to particularstandards and/or protocols, example embodiments may also be applied toany other wireless networking technology and standards, for example,cdma2000 High Rate Packet Data (HRPD) or IEEE 802.16e/WiMAX. In the caseof cdma2000 HRPD, for instance, system 200 would appear identical tothat in FIG. 2, except that the Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 203 andthe Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 220 would be replaced by a singleentity known as the Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN). In the case of802.16e/WiMAX, the SGSN 203, GGSN 220 and certain functions performed bythe RNC 230 may be incorporated into a single entity known as the accessservice network (ASN) gateway.

Furthermore, although a hierarchical architecture is illustrated, thetechniques described herein may also be applied to flat-InternetProtocol (flat-IP) based architectures where Layer 3 (IP) routing andcontrol functions relating to the wireless access network 223 areperformed by the base station 207.

According to example embodiments, the client 210 supports standardRTSP/RTCP signaling with or without 3GPP extensions for transparentend-to-end packet-switched streaming services.

During a media session the client 210 periodically sends RTCP (feedback)packets (“receiver report messages” or “receiver reports”) towards themedia server 215 to apprise the media server 215 of performance metricssuch as: fraction of packets lost (since the last similar report),cumulative number of packets lost, highest (RTP) sequence numberreceived, RTP timestamp associated with the last sender's report(received from the server), time since receiving the last sender'sreport, RTP sequence number associated with the next application dataunit to be decoded, the delay until the decoding of the next applicationdata unit, free buffer space (at the client), and the like. The lastthree of the preceding list of performance metrics are in accordancewith the 3GPP extensions for packet-switched streaming services whereasthe rest are more standard feedback items included in receiver reportmessages. Other than these items included in the receiver reports, eachRTCP packet may also carry a timestamp that can be used by the server torelate the report to a specific point in time. The client 210 may sendthe RTCP feedback packets at a rate consistent with its own capabilityand the capacity of the wireless network. Typically, such feedbackpackets are sent rather infrequently—for example, once every 3 to 4seconds. Hereinafter, the interval at which the client 210 sends RTCPfeedback packets is denoted by T_(R).

Still referring to FIG. 2, the wireless communication system 200 furtherincludes a signaling proxy 225. The signaling proxy 225 may beimplemented as a proxy server and is attached to a wireless accessnetwork entity, such as the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 220. But,the signaling proxy 225 may be attached to other access network entitiessuch as the Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 203 or the Radio NetworkController (RNC) 230A, 230B in other embodiments.

In yet another example, the signaling proxy 225 may be attached to thebase stations themselves in the case of an access network includingbase-station routers that are characterized by a flat architecture.

As discussed in co-pending and related patent application Ser. No.11/674,858 to Balachandran et al., when establishing, tearing down andduring a media session, the client 210 sends RTSP and/or RTCP messagesintended for the media server 215 over the wireless network 200.According to example embodiments, the GGSN 220 intercepts the RTSP andRTCP messages from the client 210 and sends these messages to thesignaling proxy 225 instead of the media server 215.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example embodiment of a method for dynamicallysetting content rate for a media session in a wireless network. Themethod in FIG. 3 is performed in response to receiving an initial RTSPmessage from the client 210 via the GGSN 220. The method of FIG. 3 willbe discussed with regard to the network shown in FIG. 2, and inparticular, as being performed at the signaling proxy 225.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, at step S305 signaling proxy 225 creates anentry for the new media session in its local database (not shown) inresponse to an initial RTSP message from the client 210. The initialRTSP message indicates impending establishment of a new media session.

At step S307, the signaling proxy 225 monitors subsequent RTSP messagesexchanged between the client 210 and the media server 215 during themedia session's capability negotiation phase to obtain sessionparameters from the RTSP messages (e.g., client buffer size, timeinterval at which a receiver report is sent, etc.). Because the mannerin which the capability negotiation and session establishment areperformed is well-known in the art, and thus, a detailed discussion willbe omitted.

When the signaling proxy 225 learns that a media session is about to beestablished (e.g., via a “SETUP” RTSP message from the client), thesignaling proxy 225 sends a session establishment indication message tothe RNC 230A (at step S309) through which the corresponding media streamis to be delivered.

Also at step S309, the signaling proxy 225 sets a timer designating atime period during which the signaling proxy 225 waits for an RABestablishment message from the RNC 230A. Upon expiration of the timer,if the signaling proxy 225 has not received an RAB establishment messagefrom the RNC 230A (at step S311), the signaling proxy 225 deletes thesession entry from its local database (at step S313) and the processterminates.

Returning to step S311, if the signaling proxy 225 receives an RABestablishment message for the impending media session before the timerexpires, the signaling proxy 225 turns off the timer and sets a sessionflag to 0 at step S315. The signaling proxy 225 then enters a wait stateat step S317. During the wait state, the signaling proxy 225 waits forchannel/network condition feedback messages from the RNC 230A andreceiver report (or RTCP) messages from the client 210. As discussedherein, the channel/network condition feedback messages are alsoreferred to as network condition feedback messages or channel conditionfeedback messages. Channel/network condition feedback messages includecurrent channel condition information for the network. Current channelcondition information for the network includes, for example, anidentifier of the feedback source, a maximum transmission rate parameterW_(S), and optionally, other relevant performance metrics such as thenumber of Internet Protocol (IP) packets belonging to the media sessionthat are waiting in a buffer at the RNC 230A, the corresponding bytecount, and the like.

The maximum transmission rate parameter W_(S) may be computed based onthe number of IP packets delivered to the client 210 during thepreceding channel condition feedback interval (of length T_(P) seconds),the number of transmission opportunities available to the media sessionand the number of transmission opportunities actually used to carry dataduring the preceding interval. With a dedicated channel, a transmissionblock belonging to the dedicated channel represents a transmissionopportunity.

In a more detailed example, the maximum transmission rate parameterW_(S) for the n^(th) interval of duration T_(P) seconds, may be setequal to the available bandwidth parameter W_(A)(n), which is given by(in units of bytes per second):

W _(A)(n)=M _(D)(n)*K _(A)(n)/(K _(U)(n)*T _(P)).

In the above equation, K_(A)(n) and K_(U)(n) respectively denote thenumber of transmission opportunities available to the media session andthe number of transmission opportunities actually used to carry dataduring the during the n^(th) channel condition feedback interval (oflength T_(P) seconds). Variable M_(D)(n) denotes the byte countassociated with the packets actually delivered to the client 210 duringthis interval. The maximum transmission rate parameter for the n^(th)channel/network condition feedback interval W_(S)(n) may be set equal tothe available bandwidth parameter W_(A)(n), or may be set according tothe following heuristic:

W_(s)(n) = α_(L) * W_(A)(n) if Q(n) < β_(L), = α_(H) * W_(A)(n) ifQ(n) > β_(H), = W_(A)(n) otherwise.

In the above heuristic, Q(n) is the amount of data belonging to themedia session that is queued up in the RNC 230A buffer at the end of then^(th) channel/network condition feedback interval. β_(H) is some “highwatermark,” and β_(L) is some “low watermark,” with β_(H)>β_(L).Parameters α_(L) and α_(H) are constants with α_(H)<1 and α_(L)>1.

In one example, with a 20-Kbyte per-session dedicated RNC 230A buffer,β_(H) and β_(L) may be set equal to 10 Kbytes and 2 Kbytes,respectively, whereas α_(H) and α_(L) might be set equal to 0.5 and 1.5respectively.

The signaling proxy 225 expects to receive a channel/network conditionfeedback message from the RNC 230A every T_(P) seconds and a receiverreport message from the client device 210 every T_(R) seconds.

Still referring to step S317 in FIG. 3, when the signaling proxy 225receives a first receiver report message from the client 210, thesignaling proxy 225 sets the session flag to 1 at step S319. Thesignaling proxy 225 then stores relevant information from the receivedreceiver report message and sets a feedback type indicator to 1 at S320.The feedback type indicator is set to 1 whenever the signaling proxyreceives (and processes) a receiver report message from the client 210.

As noted above, the signaling proxy 225 receives channel/networkcondition feedback messages from the RNC 230A relatively frequently(e.g., once every 100 ms). But, the signaling proxy 225 ignores thechannel/network condition feedback messages so long as the session flagequals 0. After the first receiver report message is received and thesession flag is set to 1 at step S319, the signaling proxy 225 entersanother wait state at step S321. In this state, the signaling proxy 225waits for channel/network condition feedback messages from RNC 230A andreceiver report messages from the client 210.

Still referring to step S321 in FIG. 3, in response to a receivedchannel/network condition feedback message from the RNC 230A, thesignaling proxy 225 determines whether the feedback type indicatorequals 1 at step S322. If the feedback type indicator is set to 1, thesignaling proxy 225 sends a proxy-to-server feedback message includingan extended feedback report (referred to herein as an extended feedbackreport message) to the media server 215 at step S326. The signalingproxy 225 then resets the feedback type indicator to 0 at step S328.After transmitting the extended feedback report message to the mediaserver 215, the signaling proxy 225 returns to the wait state at stepS321.

The extended feedback report message is in the form of an RTCP packetand includes all of the information contained in the most recentlyreceived receiver report message from the client 210 (e.g., the highestRTP sequence number received, the next application data unit to bedecoded, etc.) as well as the maximum transmission rate parameter(W_(S)). In addition, the extended feedback report may include otherparameters included in the most recently received channel/networkcondition feedback message from the RNC 230A.

In another embodiment, the signaling proxy 225 may wait to receivemultiple channel/network condition feedback messages, process thesemessages and generate modified channel/network condition feedback in theform of a modified maximum transmission rate parameter modWs. In oneexample, the modified maximum transmission rate parameter modWs may becomputed as a weighted average of the maximum transmission rateparameter W_(S) reported in the last K channel/network conditionfeedback messages (where K is an integer). In yet another embodiment,the signaling proxy 225 may generate a modified channel/networkcondition feedback by jointly processing the most recently receivedchannel/network condition feedback message along with processedinformation stored from previously received channel/network conditionfeedback messages and/or receiver reports.

Example embodiments will be discussed herein with regard to the maximumtransmission rate parameter W_(S), however, it will be understood thatabove discussed modified maximum transmission rate parameter modWs maybe used instead of the maximum transmission rate parameter W_(S).

When the signaling proxy 225 sends an extended feedback report messageto the media server 215, the signaling proxy 225 uses the RTP timestampof the most recent receiver report message from the client 210 as theRTP timestamp of the extended feedback report message.

Returning to step S322. in response to the received channel/networkcondition feedback message, if the signaling proxy 225 determines thatthe feedback type indicator equals 0, the signaling proxy 225 sends aproxy-to-server feedback message including a short feedback report(hereinafter referred to as a short feedback report message) at stepS324. The short feedback report message may also be in the form of anRTCP packet. The short feedback report includes at least the maximumtransmission rate parameter (Ws), but may also include theabove-discussed other parameters included in the most recently receivednetwork/channel condition feedback message from the RNC 230A. Unlike theextended feedback report message, however, the short feedback reportmessage does not include the receiver report information.

When the signaling proxy 225 sends a short feedback report message, thesignaling proxy 225 uses its local clock-time to generate an RTPtimestamp. The signaling proxy 225 may use the RTP timestamps associatedwith the receiver report messages from the client 210 to synchronize itsclock time with the clock time of the client 210.

After transmitting the short feedback report message to the media server215, the signaling proxy 225 returns to the wait state at step S321 andcontinues as discussed herein.

Returning once again to step S321, if the message received in the waitstate is a receiver report message from the client 210, the signalingproxy 225 returns to step S320, performs the actions associatedtherewith, and enters the wait state at step S321.

When the media session is terminated with appropriate RTSP messages fromthe client 210 or the media server 215, the signaling proxy 225 deletesthe entry for that session in its local database, stops sendingproxy-to-server feedback messages to the media server 215, and instructsthe RNC 230A to stop sending channel/network condition feedbackmessages.

While example embodiments are discussed herein with respect to anextended feedback report generated by combining the information from themost recent receiver report message from the client 210 with theinformation contained in the most recent network/channel conditionfeedback message from the RNC 230A, the information from the most recentreceiver report messages and the information from the most recentnetwork/channel condition feedback messages may be kept separate, andreported to the media server 215 separately. In such an arrangement,whenever the signaling proxy 225 receives a receiver report message fromthe client 210, the signaling proxy 225 forwards the received receiverreport message to the media server 215 (e.g., after recording at least aportion of the information contained therein).

Similarly, upon receiving a network/channel condition feedback messageform the RNC 230A, the signaling proxy 225 sends a separateproxy-to-server message to the media server 215 containing the maximumtransmission rate parameter W_(S) and other relevant informationincluded in the network/channel condition feedback message.

As discussed above, the signaling proxy 225 sends proxy-to-serverfeedback messages to the media server 215 periodically (at regularintervals). The intervals of periodicity may be on the order of hundredsof milliseconds (e.g., about 100 ms to about 1000 ms or 1 second). Inresponse to at least some of these messages, the media server 215 mayset the content rate for a media session.

Content rate refers to the rate at which media (e.g., voice, video,audio, etc.) is played out during a media session. The content ratecorresponds to the average transmission rate needed to carry acorresponding media stream. A given content rate for a media stream canbe realized by a combination of appropriate encoding and thinning.Typically, the higher the content rate, the better the media quality forthe end-user.

From the viewpoint of the media server 215, methods for content rateselection begin upon receipt of an initial RTSP message from the client210 (forwarded from the signaling proxy 225). The RTSP message informsthe media server 215 of the client 210's desire to set up a mediasession. The media server 215 then participates in the ensuing messagingfor capability negotiation (exchange) and session establishment.

In the case where the media is being streamed from a storage device, themedia can be encoded at different content rates and stored for futureuse. For a live streaming media session, the encoding may be done “onthe fly.” When the media is being streamed, the media server 215 selectsthe content rate for the media, and, based on the selected content rate,the media server 215 fetches the appropriate files containing mediaframes, packetizes these files, and transmits the selected files towardthe client 210. Content rate selection is typically performed oftenthrough the duration of the media session.

Once the capability exchange and session establishment is complete, themedia server 215 begins streaming media frames to the client 210. Themedia server 215 also begins receiving proxy-to-server feedback messagesfrom the signaling proxy 225.

During streaming media sessions, the media server 215 performs dynamiccontent rate selection and frame transmission scheduling.

The objective of content rate selection at the media server 215 is tomaximize media quality within the constraints imposed by current channelconditions. After initially setting the content rate for the mediasession based on the parameters negotiated with the client 210 duringsession setup, the media server 215 dynamically adjusts the content ratefor the media session based on fluctuating channel conditions.

Because the buffer state at the client 210 provides an indication ofwhether the current content rate is sustainable, can be raised, or needsto be lowered in view of the current channel conditions, the mediaserver's content rate selection decisions are driven by the feedbackfrom the client 210.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a method for content rate selection at amedia server according to an example embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4A, after performing capability negotiation for themedia session with the client 210, the media server 215 sets the contentrate in accordance with the negotiated parameters. After initiallysetting the content rate, the media server 215 initializes a pluralityof content rate selection metrics to 0 at step S504. These plurality ofcontent rate selection metrics include a favorable channel conditionmetric Cons_RTCP_Up, an unfavorable channel condition metricCons_RTCP_Dn, a cumulative buffer content depletion metric Bfr_Depl_Ct,and a previous buffer content metric Old_Bfr_Cont. The media server 215also initializes a timer value Bfr_Depl_Timer to 0.

The favorable channel condition metric Cons_RTCP_Up is a counter valuethat counts the number of consecutive proxy-to-server feedback messagesthat indicate favorable channel conditions for the media session. Theunfavorable channel condition metric Cons_RTCP_Dn is a counter valuethat counts the number of consecutive proxy-to-server feedback messagesthat indicate unfavorable channel conditions for the media session.

According to at least some example embodiments, the channel conditionsmay be determined as being unfavorable based on given, desired orpre-determined criteria satisfied by one or more reported metrics suchas client buffer levels falling below a threshold etc.

The cumulative buffer content depletion metric Bfr_Depl_Ct represents anamount of reduction in the content at the client buffer over a giventime window. The timer Bfr_Depl_Timer is a timer used to track the timewindow over which the cumulative buffer content depletion metricBfr_Depl_Ct is accumulated. Bfr_Depl_Timer may be chosen to span aninteger number of extended feedback signaling periods from the signalingproxy 225 to media server 215. The media server 215 uses the cumulativebuffer content depletion metric Bfr_Depl_Ct to accumulate values of thedepletion (also referred to as step-drop) Delta over the given timewindow. The cumulative buffer content depletion metric Bfr_Depl_Ct isupdated upon receipt of each extended feedback report message during thegiven time window. The cumulative buffer content depletion Bfr_Depl_Ctrepresents the total buffer content depletion since the beginning of thetime window and may be indicative of a steady decrease in the clientbuffer content.

Depletion metric Delta is indicative of a channel's short-term inabilityto support the current content rate for the media session. As discussedherein, depletion metric Delta is also referred to as a “step drop” anddefined as the difference between the previous buffer content metricOld_Bfr_Cont and the (current) buffer content metric N_Buffer. Theprevious buffer content metric Old_Bfr_Cont refers to the previousbuffer content reported in the most recent previous extended feedbackreport message.

Still referring to FIG. 4A, after initializing the plurality of contentrate selection metrics, the media server 215 enters a wait state at stepS506. While in the wait state, the media server 215 awaits arrival of aproxy-to-server feedback message from the signaling proxy 225.

Upon receipt of a proxy-to-server feedback message, the media server 225determines if the proxy-to-server message is an extended feedback reportmessage or a short feedback report message at step S507.

If the received proxy-to-server feedback message is a short feedbackreport message, the media server 215 sets the streaming rate(transmission rate) equal to the maximum transmission rate parameterW_(S) reported in the short feedback report message at step S508. Themedia server 215 then returns to the wait state at step S506 andproceeds as discussed herein. According to example embodiments,streaming rate is the rate at which media frames are actuallytransmitted by the media server 215. The streaming rate may be differentfrom the content rate. Content rate selection is typically done on thebasis of medium-term estimates of channel conditions. Streaming ratesetting is driven by the short-term view of channel conditions. Theaverage streaming rate may not be different from the average contentrate for relatively long periods of time, however. For example, if theaverage streaming rate is smaller than the average content rate for asignificant amount of time, the client device 210 may eventually run outof content to be played out.

Returning to step S507, if the received proxy-to-server feedback messageis an extended feedback report message, the media server 215 sets thestreaming rate equal to the maximum transmission rate parameter W_(S)reported in the extended feedback report message at step S510.

At step S512, the media server 215 determines frame sequence numbersN_Last and N_Next based on the information contained in the extendedfeedback report message. The frame sequence number N_Last is thesequence number of the latest frame received by the client 210. Themedia server 215 determines the sequence number N_Last from the highestRTP sequence number reported in the extended feedback report message.The sequence number N_Next is the sequence number of the earliest framereceived by the client 210. The media server 215 determines sequencenumber N_Next from the RTP sequence number associated with the nextapplication data unit to be decoded as reported in the extended feedbackreport message.

Instead of using sequence numbers associated with frames, the mediaserver 215 may use timestamps as the corresponding identifiers. Iftimestamps are used as identifiers, the computations associated withcontent rate selection decisions are in units of time rather than inunits of frames. For example, buffer contents would be given in terms ofthe amount of time it would take to play out the corresponding framesrather than in terms of the actual number of frames contained in thebuffer.

Referring back to FIG. 4A, after determining sequence numbers N_Last andN_Next at step S512, the media server 215 calculates/estimates a buffercontent metric N_Buffer associated with the client 210 (or alternativelythe media session itself) based on the sequence numbers N_Last andN_Next at step S514. The client buffer content metric N_Bufferrepresents the current content of the buffer at client 210.

In more detail, the media server 215 sets the metrics N_Buffer, Delta,and Bfr_Depl_Ct as follows:

N_Buffer←N_Last−N_Next;

Delta←Old_Bfr_Cont−N_Buffer; and

Bfr_Depl_Ct←Bfr_Depl_Ct+Delta.

Although not specifically shown in the figures, it should be noted thateach of N_Buffer, Delta, and Bfr_Depl_Ct are initialized to 0 at thebeginning of the time window over which Bfr_Depl_Ct is computed.

Still referring to step S514, the media server 215 increments the bufferdepletion timer Bfr_Depl_Timer by 1 (Bfr_Depl_Timer←Bfr_Depl_Timer+1).

Still referring to FIG. 4A, at step S516, the media server 215 comparesthe buffer content metric N_Buffer with a minimum threshold valueT_Lower. The threshold value T_Lower is in terms of a number of frames.If the buffer content metric N_Buffer falls below the minimum thresholdT_Lower, the media server 215 determines that further fluctuations inchannel conditions may lead to complete draining of the buffer at client210, which results in re-buffering. Accordingly, the media server 215sets the favorable channel condition metric Cons_RTCP_Up to 0,increments the unfavorable channel condition metric Cons_RTCP_Dn by 1 atstep S556. The method then proceeds to step S538 (shown in FIG. 4B anddiscussed in more detail below).

If the buffer content metric N_Buffer is greater than or equal to thethreshold T_Lower, the media server 215 compares the buffer contentmetric N_Buffer with an intermediate lower threshold T_Inner at stepS518. Also at step S518, the media server 215 compares the depletionmetric Delta with a step-down threshold Down_Step.

If, at step S518, the buffer content metric N_Buffer is less than theintermediate lower threshold T_Inner and the depletion metric Delta isgreater than the step-down threshold Down_Step, the media server 215once again determines that the channel conditions are unfavorable forthe current content rate. Accordingly, the media server proceeds to stepS556 and continues as discussed herein. Returning to step S518, if thebuffer content metric N_Buffer greater than or equal to the intermediatelower threshold T_Inner and the depletion metric Delta is less than orequal to the step-down threshold Down_Step, the media server 215compares the buffer content metric N_Buffer with an upper intermediatethreshold T_Outer at step S519. Also at step S519, the media server 215compares the value of the buffer content depletion metric Bfr_Depl_Ctwith a depletion threshold T_Steady.

If the buffer content metric N_Buffer is less than the upperintermediate threshold T_Outer and the value of buffer content depletionmetric Bfr_Depl_Ct is greater than the depletion threshold T_Steady, themedia server 215 once again determines the current channel conditions tobe unfavorable for the current content rate. Accordingly, the mediaserver 215 proceeds to step S556 and continues as discussed herein. Ifthe buffer content metric N_Buffer is greater than or equal to the upperintermediate threshold T_Outer and the value of buffer content depletionmetric Bfr_Depl_Ct is less than or equal to the depletion thresholdT_Steady, the media server 215 sets the unfavorable channel conditionsmetric Cons_RTCP_Dn to 0 at step S521. The media server 215 thencompares the buffer content metric N_Buffer with a channel conditionscounter threshold value T_Cons at step S523.

If, at step S523, the buffer content metric N_Buffer is greater than orequal to the threshold T_Cons, the media server 215 determines thecurrent channel conditions are favorable for higher content rates.Accordingly, the media server 215 increments the favorable channelcondition metric Cons_RTCP_Up by 1 at step S552, and then proceeds tostep S538 (shown in FIG. 4B). Returning to step S523, if the buffercontent metric N_Buffer is less than the threshold T_Cons, the mediaserver 215 compares the buffer content metric N_Buffer with a maximumthreshold T_Upper at step S554. Also at step S554, the media server 215compares the negative value of the depletion metric Delta (i.e., −Delta)with favorable channel condition threshold Up_Step. If the buffercontent metric N_Buffer is greater than the maximum threshold T_Upperand the negative value of the depletion metric Delta is greater than thefavorable channel condition threshold Up_Step, the media server 215deems the current channel conditions to be favorable for higher contentrates. Accordingly, the media server 215 proceeds to step S552 andcontinues as discussed herein. Returning to step S554, if the buffercontent metric N_Buffer is less than or equal to the maximum thresholdT_Upper and the negative value of the depletion metric Delta is lessthan or equal to the favorable channel condition threshold Up_Step themedia server 215 sets the favorable channel conditions metricCons_RTCP_Up to 0 at step S527, and then proceeds to step S538 (shown inFIG. 4B).

Turning to FIG. 4B, when the media server 215 reaches step S538, themedia server 215 compares the favorable channel conditions metricCons_RTCP_Up with a maximum favorable channel conditions thresholdcounter value Max_RTCP_Up. If the favorable channel conditions metricCons_RTCP_Up is greater than or equal to the threshold valueMax_RTCP_Up, the media server 215, at step S550, sets the content ratefor the media session equal to the next higher content rate for themedia session (if the content rate does not already equal the highestpossible content rate for the media session), sets the favorable channelconditions metric Cons_RTCP_Up to 0, and then proceeds to step S544(discussed in more detail later). Returning to step S538, if thefavorable channel conditions metric Cons_RTCP_Up is less than themaximum favorable channel conditions threshold counter valueMax_RTCP_Up, the media server 215 compares unfavorable channelconditions metric Cons_RTCP_Dn with a maximum unfavorable channelconditions threshold counter value threshold Max_RTCP_Dn at step S540.

If the unfavorable channel conditions metric Cons_RTCP_Dn is greaterthan or equal to threshold value Max_RTCP_Dn, the media server 215 setsthe content rate for the media session to the next lower content ratefor the media session (if the content rate does not already equal thelowest possible content rate for the media session), and sets theunfavorable channel conditions metric Cons_RTCP_Dn to 0 at step S542.

The media server 215 then sets the buffer depletion timer Bfr_Depl_Timerand the buffer depletion counter value Bfr_Depl_Ct to 0 at step S544. Atstep S546, the media server 215 then sets the previous buffer contentmetric Old_Bfr_Cont equal to the buffer content metric N_Buffer(Old_Bfr_Cont=N_Buffer). The media server 215 then returns to the waitstate at step S506 and continues as discussed herein.

Returning to step S540, if the unfavorable channel conditions metricCons_RTCP_Dn is less than threshold Max_RTCP_Dn, the media server 215compares the value of the buffer depletion timer Bfr_Depl_Timer with amaximum buffer depletion timer threshold Max_Bfr_Depl_Timer at stepS548. If the buffer depletion timer Bfr_Depl_Timer is less than thethreshold Max_Bfr_Depl_Timer at step S548, the method proceeds to stepS546 and continues as discussed herein.

Returning to step S548, if the value of the buffer depletion timerBfr_Depl_Timer is greater than or equal to the thresholdMax_Bfr_Depl_Timer at step S548, the method proceeds to step S544 andcontinues as discussed herein.

As noted above, the media server 215 also performs dynamic frametransmission scheduling or frame transmission rate control during amedia session. As will be discussed in more detail below, FIGS. 5-7illustrate methods for dynamic frame transmission scheduling accordingto example embodiments. The methods shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 pertain toprocessing/packetizing and queuing of frames to be transmitted to theclient 210, whereas the method shown in FIG. 7 pertains to the flowcontrolled (token-bucket based) transmission of media session packets(packetized frames) to the client 210.

In more detail, FIG. 5 illustrates the processing/packetizing andqueuing of frames for transmission to the client 210; that is, placementin the token bucket queue, during the pre-roll period. FIG. 6 shows theprocessing/packetizing and placement of frames in the token bucket queueduring the post pre-roll period. These procedures shown in FIGS. 5 and 6establish the earliest times that packets can be transmitted to theclient 210. There may be further limitations on streaming rate to theclient 210 (e.g., rate of transmission of media session packets, etc.)based on feedback messages, etc., which are enforced using the tokenbucket rate control mechanism in FIG. 7.

The objective of dynamic frame transmission scheduling is to ensure thatthe client 210 has the appropriate frames ready for decoding andplay-out before their respective play-out times. The buffer spaceprovided by the client 210 for the media session allows the media server215 to transmit frames well ahead of their play-out times so that theyare available at the client 210 as needed. This buffer space helps theclient 210 overcome fluctuations in the channel bandwidth available tothe media session.

There are two constraints that limit how far ahead of their respectiveplay-out times frames can be transmitted by the media server 215. Theseconstraints include the finite size of the client buffer (which themedia server 215 becomes aware of during the capability negotiation forthe media session) and the restriction on the transmission streamingrate conveyed periodically to the media server 215 by the signalingproxy 225; that is, the maximum transmission rate parameter W_(S)included in each proxy-to-server feedback message. Frame transmissionscheduling must be carried out within the streaming rate limit and alsobe done such manner that packets are not lost due to buffer overflow atthe client 210.

A common and rather conservative approach (often referred to as“hypothetical receiver buffer”) to avoid packet losses due to clientbuffer overflow is to assume that all packets transmitted by the mediaserver 215, but not belonging to frames that have already been playedout, are present in the buffer at the client 210.

Frame transmission scheduling is then performed such that the bufferspace necessary to hold these packets does not exceed the buffer spaceallocated to the media session. For the sake of clarity, it is assumedthat the media server 215 follows this conservative approach. However,example embodiments may be utilized in conjunction with other approachesto avoid packet loss such as temporary caching of packets inintermediate nodes.

The streaming rate limit may be imposed via a token-bucket-based ratecontrol scheme, which will be discussed in more detail later with regardto FIG. 7.

Given the hypothetical-receiver-buffer method of avoiding packet lossesdue to client buffer overflow and the token-bucket-based streaming ratecontrol, the media server 215 carries out frame transmission schedulingas shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method for frame transmission scheduling during apre-roll period. The pre-roll period constitutes the period before theclient 210 begins playing out received frames. As shown in FIG. 5,during the pre-roll period, the media server 215 attempts to transmitframes continuously subject to the limit imposed by thetoken-bucket-based transmission control, discussed in more detail laterwith regard to FIG. 7. That is, the media server 215 pushes frames outwhenever it senses the packet queue associated with the token-bucketbase transmission rate control is empty. Thus, packets belonging to themedia stream are continuously transmitted at the rate determined bystreaming rate control.

Referring to FIG. 5, in one example embodiment, at step S402 the mediaserver 215 initializes the estimated client buffer level L to 0. Theestimated client buffer level L is an estimate (byte-count) of thepackets/frames present in the buffer at client 210 awaiting playout. Atstep S404, the media server 215 enters a state where it checks whether atoken bucket packet queue is empty. The token bucket packet queue (orpacket queue) is a buffer at the media server 215 storing media sessionpackets awaiting transmission to the client 210. No action is takenuntil the packet queue is found to be empty.

In step S404, if the token bucket packet queue is empty, the mediaserver 215 calculates the size S of the current frame of information tobe transmitted at step S406. The size S of the current frame maycorrespond to the number of bits or the byte-count of the frame.Alternatively, the size of the frame may correspond to a particularlength of the frame.

At step S408, the media server 215 increments the estimate of the clientbuffer level L by S (L←L+S). At step S410, the media server 215packetizes the frame of information to be transmitted.

At step S412, the media server 215 places the packets into the packetqueue.

At step S414, the media server 215 determines if the pre-roll period iscomplete. The pre-roll period is complete if all the frames thatconstitute the pre-roll period have been transmitted. If the pre-rollperiod is not complete, the method returns to step S404 and continues asdiscussed above.

Returning to step S414, if the pre-roll period is complete, the mediaserver 215 performs the method shown in FIG. 6.

Once the pre-roll period is over and the client 210 begins playing outreceived media frames, frame transmission scheduling operates under thedual constraints of working within the rate limit imposed by thetoken-bucket-based transmission rate control (discussed in more detaillater) and making sure that the server's estimate of the client bufferlevel L does not exceed the buffer size allocated to the media session.The flowchart shown in FIG. 6 illustrates a frame transmissionscheduling method during the post-pre-roll period.

Referring to FIG. 6, at step S602, the media server 215 enters a statewhere it checks to see if the token bucket packet queue is empty. Noscheduling action is taken by the media server until the packet queue isnot empty. If the packet queue is empty at step S602, the media server215 calculates the size S of the current frame of information to betransmitted at step S604. The media server 215 adds the size S with theestimated client buffer level L. If the sum of the estimated clientbuffer level L and the frame size S is less than the client buffer sizeat step S606, the media server 215 sets L equal to the sum of theestimated client buffer level L and the frame size S at step S608. Themedia server 215 packetizes the frame at S610, and places the packetsinto the packet queue at step S612. The method then returns to step S602and continues as discussed above.

Returning to step S606, if the sum of the estimated client buffer levelL and frame size S is greater than than the client buffer size, themedia server 215 enters a wait state at step S614 where it waits for atime period needed for the client to play out a frame. At step S616, themedia server 215 decreases the estimated client buffer level L by thesize of the frame that has just been played out. The method thenproceeds to step S604 and continues as discussed above.

As discussed above, limits on the streaming rate at which packets can bestreamed to the client 210 also constrain how far ahead of theirrespective play-out times frames can be transmitted by the media server215. FIG. 7 illustrates a method for imposing a streaming rate limit viaa token-bucket based rate control scheme. A token-bucket-based ratecontrol scheme is characterized by three parameters: step-size Δ, updateinterval τ and maximum credit level Gmax. A token-bucket scheme is alsodependent upon a state variable G (referred to as the credit level) andthe token bucket packet queue. As discussed above, the token bucketpacket queue is a buffer at the media server 215 storing media sessionpackets awaiting transmission to the client 210.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method for frame transmission rate control in whichthe media server 215 determines whether to transmit a packet to theclient 210 based on a state variable associated with the media sessionand the availability of a packet (belonging to the media session) thatis ready for transmission. The state variable is a credit level G. Themedia server 215 transmits the packet to the client 210 if the creditlevel G is greater than zero. Example embodiments of the method shown inFIG. 7 will be discussed in more detail below.

Referring to FIG. 7, at the beginning of the media session, the mediaserver 215 initializes the credit level G to the maximum credit levelGmax at step S700. The media server 215 then sets a timer equal to thelength of the update interval τ at step S702. In one embodiment of theinvention as illustrated in FIG. 7, the update interval τ is chosen tobe smaller than the time interval between play-out of consecutiveframes. For example, the update interval τ may be chosen to be 20 mswhen the play-out interval is 30 ms. After setting the timer, the mediaserver 215 enters a wait state at step S704. While in the wait state,the media server 215 waits for a packet to be ready for transmission orfor the timer to expire.

When the media server 215 receives (or generates) a packet ready fortransmission (referred to as the “new packet”), the media server 215checks if the packet queue is empty at step S706. If the packet queue isnot empty, the new packet is placed at the end of the packet queue atstep S710. The media server 215 then returns to the wait state at stepS704 and the process proceeds as discussed herein.

Returning to step S706, if the packet queue is empty, the media server215 checks the credit level G associated with the client 210 at stepS708. If the credit level G is less than or equal to zero, the processproceeds to step S710 and continues as discussed above.

Returning to step S708, if the credit level G is greater than 0, thecredit level G is decremented by the length of the new packet and thepacket is transmitted at step S712. The method then returns to the waitstate at step S704 and continues as discussed herein.

While in the wait state at step S704, if the timer expires the mediaserver 215 increments credit level G by step size Δ at step S714. If theincremented value of the credit level G is greater than Gmax, the creditlevel G is set to Gmax. According to example embodiments, the step sizeΔ is equal to the product of the most recently received maximumtransmission parameter W_(S) and the update interval τ (W_(S)*τ).

Still referring to FIG. 7, the media server 215 checks if theincremented credit level G is greater than 0 at step S716. If the creditlevel G is less than or equal to zero, the process returns to step S702,the timer is reset and the method continues as discussed above.

Returning to step S716, if credit level G is greater than 0, the mediaserver 215 checks if the packet queue is empty at step S718. If thepacket queue is empty, the method proceeds to step S702 and continues asdiscussed above.

Returning to step S718, if the packet queue is not empty, the mediaserver 215 removes the first packet (e.g., the oldest or highestpriority packet) from the queue and transmits the packet at step S720.Also at step S720, the media server 215 decrements the credit level G bythe length of the transmitted packet. The method then returns to stepS716 and continues as discussed above.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the invention, and all such modifications are intended tobe included within the scope of the invention.

1. A method for dynamically setting a content rate of a multimediasession for a client in a network, the method comprising: receiving, ata proxy server, a channel condition feedback message from a networkcontroller, the channel condition feedback message including currentchannel condition information for the network; determining, at the proxyserver, whether a receiver report message has been received from theclient since a most recent previous channel condition feedback message;and sending, from the proxy server to a media server, one of an extendedfeedback report message and a short feedback report message based on thedetermining step, the short feedback report message including at least amaximum transmission rate parameter for the multimedia session, theextended feedback report message including at least informationcontained in the receiver report message in addition to at least themaximum transmission rate parameter for the multimedia session.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the extended feedback report message includesat least a first message and a second message, the first messageincluding the maximum transmission rate parameter for the multimediasession and the second message including the information contained inthe receiver report message.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theextended feedback report message further includes the current channelcondition information contained in the most recent channel conditionfeedback message.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending stepsends an extended feedback report message if a receiver report messagehas been received from the client since a most recent previous channelcondition feedback message.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thesending step sends a short feedback report message if a receiver reportmessage has not been received from the client since a most recentprevious channel.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the informationreceived in the receiver report message includes real-time transportprotocol (RTP) sequence numbers corresponding to frames awaiting playoutat the client.
 7. A method for dynamically setting a content rate for amultimedia session for a client in a network, the method comprising:streaming multimedia frames from a media server to a client at a firstcontent rate; setting, at the media server in response to aproxy-to-server message from a proxy server, a streaming rate for themultimedia session according to a maximum transmission rate parameterincluded in a proxy-to-server message, the proxy-to-server message beingone of an extended feedback report message and a short feedback reportmessage; and selectively performing dynamic adjustment of the contentrate based on whether the proxy-to-server message is an extendedfeedback report message or a short feedback report message.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the selectively performing step performsdynamic adjustment of the content rate if the proxy-to-server message isan extended feedback report message.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe selectively performing step does not perform dynamic adjustment ofthe content rate if the proxy-to-server message is a short feedbackreport message.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the extended feedbackreport message includes at least sequence numbers corresponding toframes awaiting playout at the client, the dynamic adjustmentcomprising: increasing or decreasing the content rate based on thesequence numbers corresponding to frames awaiting playout at the client.11. The method of claim 10, wherein the dynamic adjustment furthercomprises: calculating a plurality of content rate selection metricsbased on the sequence numbers; comparing at least a portion of thecontent rate selection metrics with a plurality of threshold values; andadjusting the content rate based on the comparing step.
 12. The methodof claim 11, wherein the plurality of content rate selection metricsinclude at least a favorable channel condition metric, and the comparingstep compares at least the favorable channel condition metric with afavorable channel condition threshold value, the adjusting step furthercomprising: increasing the content rate if the favorable channelcondition metric is greater than the favorable channel conditionthreshold value.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality ofcontent rate selection metrics include at least an unfavorable channelcondition metric and the comparing step compares at least theunfavorable channel condition metric with an unfavorable channelcondition threshold value, the adjusting step further comprising:decreasing the content rate if the unfavorable channel condition metricis greater than the unfavorable channel condition threshold value.
 14. Amethod for rate-control of a multimedia session for a client in anetwork, the method comprising: determining whether a token bucketpacket queue associated with the multimedia session is empty;calculating a size of a frame to be transmitted to the client if thetoken bucket packet queue is empty; estimating a client buffer levelincluding the frame, the client buffer being a buffer at the client andbeing associated with the multimedia session; packetizing the frame fortransmission to the client; and scheduling the packet for transmission.15. The method of claim 14, wherein the scheduling step furthercomprises: placing the packetized frame into a token bucket packet queuefor transmission to the client.
 16. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising: comparing the estimated client buffer level with a buffercapacity for the client; and wherein the packetizing step packetizes theframe for transmission only if the estimated client buffer level is lessthan the buffer capacity.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein thescheduling step further comprises: placing the packetized frame into atoken bucket packet queue for transmission to the client.
 18. A methodfor rate-control of a multimedia session for a client in a network, themethod comprising: determining, at a media server, whether to transmit apacket to the client based on a state variable associated with themultimedia session; and selectively transmitting the packet to theclient based on the determining step.
 19. The method of claim 18,wherein the state variable is a current credit level associated with themultimedia session, and the media server transmits the packet to theclient if the credit level is greater than zero.
 20. The method of claim18, further comprising: incrementing the state variable upon theexpiration of a time interval, the time interval being equal to a lengthof an update interval for updating the state variable.